Member for fixing a bicycle driving device

ABSTRACT

The invention concerns a member for fixing ( 1 ) a bicycle wheel friction drive device comprising a first part ( 2 ) linked to said driving device ( 3 ), so as to be pivotable about a first pivot pin ( 4 ), and a second part ( 5 ) attached to the first part ( 2 ), so as to enable mutual pivoting between them about a second pivot pin ( 6 ), said second part ( 5 ) including a fastener ( 7 ) located at a predetermined distance from said second pivot pin ( 6 ), said fixing member ( 1 ) further comprising adjusting means designed to fix in an adjustable angular position the first part ( 2 ) relative to the second part ( 5 ).

The present invention relates to a fixing member for a device for the friction driving of a bicycle wheel.

Driving systems for bicycles offer assistance for pedalling by means of an additional motor. This assistance generally consists of a drive mechanism arranged on one of the wheels of the bicycle. Thus the power of the motor drives the wheel and is added to the power exerted by the pressure on the pedals, which enables the cyclist to supply less effort.

Such a drive system is for example illustrated in European patent application EP-A-0 155.185. This known system is provided with a drive motor connected to one of the wheels of the bicycle by means of a drive wheel. In this drive system, the member fixing the drive device comprises a fastener to be connected to an element of the bicycle frame, the drive device being arranged so as to be able to pivot about a pin provided on this fastener.

Unfortunately, the majority of these drive systems are fixed to the bicycle frame permanently, that is to say non-adaptively. The known fixing systems, being provided for a particular type of configuration, adapt only with great difficulty to another type of configuration. Thus, when a cyclist wishes to change a bicycle for another bicycle having a different configuration or simply wishes to modify the position of the drive system on his bicycle, he must very often change the fixing system or change drive system.

The aim of the present invention is therefore to propose a member for fixing a device for driving a bicycle wheel by friction, adapting easily to each type of conventional bicycle.

This aim is achieved by a member for fixing a device for driving a bicycle wheel by friction, comprising

-   -   a fastener connected to an element of the bicycle frame,     -   the friction drive device being arranged so as to be able to         pivot freely about a first pivot pin,         this fixing member also comprising     -   a first part, to which the drive device is connected so as to be         able to pivot freely about the said first pivot pin,     -   a second part, which is connected to the first part so as to         allow mutual pivoting between them about a second pivot pin, and         which comprises the said fastener, at a distance from the said         second pivot pin, and     -   adjustment means capable of detachably fixing the first part         with respect to the second part in an angular position         adjustable by the above mentioned mutual pivoting.

Thus the drive device does not pivot directly with respect to the bicycle frame or to a part fixed with respect to this frame, but on the contrary with respect to an intermediate piece, referred to as the first part of the fixing member, whose angular position with respect to the second part can be adjusted in advance. In this way, the drive device can adapt to the movement of the wheel with respect to the bicycle frame, in particular when it is damped. The fixing member can be adapted by simple pivoting to the configuration of the frame, for example at the position of the fastener point or at that of the drive device.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the first pivot pin is situated at a distance from the second pivot pin. Advantageously, the fixing member comprises means of modifying the separation between the first pivot pin and the second pivot pin. Preferentially, the first part has several pivot seats for adjusting the position of the first pivot pin as required. In this way, very easy adjustment is obtained which is particularly adaptable to any model of bicycle and to any position of the frame for the fixing member and therefore the drive device.

According to another embodiment, the fixing member can comprise at least one stop arranged so as to delimit an angle of movement between the said drive device and the said first part. The angle of movement thus delimited reduces the risk of the drive device jumping when disconnecting from the wheel. Following its passage over an irregularity in the road, the drive device may bounce on the bicycle tyre and tilt about the first pivot point.

Other embodiments of modular structures according to the invention are indicated in the accompanying claims. In addition, other details and particularities of the invention will emerge from the description given below, non-limitingly and with reference to the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of an embodiment of a fixing member according to the invention.

FIG. 2 illustrates, in a side view, a fixing member according to the invention fixed to a first type of bicycle.

FIG. 3 illustrates, in a side view, the fixing member according to FIG. 2 fixed to a second type of bicycle.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the first and second parts of a variant fixing member according to the invention.

FIG. 5 is a plan view of the connection between the two parts of the fixing member according to FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 depicts a side view of a detail of the construction of a variant second part of the fixing member.

FIG. 7 is a side view of yet another variant fixing member according to the invention.

In the drawings, the same reference number has been allocated to the same element or to a similar element.

If reference is made to FIG. 1, the fixing member 1 comprises a first part 2 connected to the drive device 3 so as to be able to pivot about a first pivot pin 4. In addition, a second part 5 is attached to the first part 2, so as to allow their mutual pivoting about a second pivot pin 6. The second part also comprises a fastener 7 situated at a predetermined distance from the said second pivot pin 6.

This fastener 7 can comprise, for example, two blocks 8, the first block comprising a concave face 9 placed facing the concave face of the second block, and these blocks being connected by fixing means such as, for example, clamping screws 10. One of the blocks can be integral with the second part of the fixing member.

In order to fix the fastener to a part of the handlebars, the operator can unscrew the clamping screws so as to separate the two blocks and place the block integral with the second part against the part of the bicycle to which the fixing member is fixed. Next, the operator can place the other block opposite and screw the clamping screws so as to fix the two blocks around the part of the handlebars. Likewise, the form of the sides of the blocks coming into contact with the bicycle can vary so as best to follow the circumferences of the place to which the fastener will be fixed.

It can also be imagined that the fastener can itself be connected detachably to the second part 5 of the fixing member. It can also be conceived, for example, that, as illustrated in FIG. 7, the fastener be supported on the second part 5 by a pivot 21 for adapting the position of the fastener in the most appropriate fashion to the frame element to which the fixing member must be attached. In the embodiment illustrated, the pivot 21 is formed by one of the clamping bolts of the fastener 7.

In the embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 3, the drive device is composed of a motor 21, for example electric, connected to a drive wheel by a transmission means, not shown, such as a chain or belt, the drive wheel acting on the bicycle tyre by communicating its movement to it by friction.

According to another embodiment of the invention, the first and second pivot pins can be coaxial along the near edge of the drive device. Thus a single pin could serve as a pivot for the movement between the drive device and the assembly consisting of the first and second parts. This embodiment could prove to be more economical in manufacture.

In addition, the first part 2 of the fixing member can also comprise a series of holes 12 close to the drive device. These holes represent various pivot seats allowing an additional adjustment for the placing of the drive device. This is because these holes make it possible to modify the location of the first pivot pin and therefore adjust the length between the fastener and the drive device so as to place the drive wheel on the bicycle tyre as advantageously as possible according to the bicycle configuration (see for example the various positions illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3).

In addition, the fixing member can also comprise at least one stop arranged so as to delimit an angle of movement between the said drive device and the said first part. In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1 the fixing member comprises two stops, the first stop 13 being one of the actual sides of the first part 2 of the fixing member and the second stop 15 being situated on the other side of the fixing member.

Thus, when the drive device bounces, for example following a bump encountered by the wheel, it tilts about the first pivot pin 4, so as to be stopped by the first stop 13. In this case, in fact, during rotation about the first rotation axis, the shell 14 of the drive device encounters the side 13 which stops it in its rotation movement and enable the drive device to fall again towards the wheel by gravity.

Likewise, the fixing member can also be provided with a normal elastic means, not shown, which, with a certain degree of freedom, forces the drive device to remain essentially in contact with the wheel.

The second stop 15 enables the drive device, when the wheel is squashed or gives way violently under the drive device, to be stopped at a certain movement angle so that, when the wheel returns to its initial position, the drive device does not encounter the wheel too violently. For example, if the inclination of the drive device with respect to the movement axis of the wheel were 90° or more, the encounter between the wheel and the drive device could cause high forces in the first pivot pin which could twist or break it.

In addition, in FIGS. 1 to 3, the fixing member also comprises adjustment means 16 which comprise, on one of the parts of the fixing member, for example on the second part 5, at least one first orifice 17 extending in an arc of curvature having as its centre the second pivot pin 6 and a second orifice 18, for example situated on the first part 2 of the fixing member. This second orifice 18 is arranged so as to move opposite one of the said at least one first orifice. In addition, a holding and clamping means is arranged so as to engage in the first orifice 17 and in the second orifice 18 in order thus to keep the two parts integral with each other, after clamping. In this case, the holding means 19 comprise a nut and a bolt.

As illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3, the fixing member can adapt to various bicycle configurations. Thus, as depicted in FIG. 2, the fixing member makes it possible to attach the drive device to a substantially vertical bar of the bicycle. It is also possible, as depicted in FIG. 3, to attach the fixing member to a substantially horizontal bar of the bicycle.

So as to adjust the pivot angle of the first part with respect to the second, the cyclist makes the second part 5 and the first part 2 of the fixing member pivot mutually about the second pivot pin 6. Next, in the appropriate angular position, the fixing means 19, in this case a nut and a bolt, are tightened so as to press the first part onto the second, which fixes these two parts together.

In addition, the drive device can comprise a shell provided with a luggage holder 20, the luggage holder preferably being arranged so as to carry a bag deposited so as to straddle the luggage holder. The bag can comprise for example two locations, each arranged to contain for example batteries supplying the motor of the drive device. When the bag is placed straddling the luggage holder, the batteries will be placed so as to balance the weight on each side of the drive device.

In the example embodiment illustrated in FIG. 4, the first part 2 consists of two pieces 22 and 23 capable of sliding with respect to each other, for example telescopically. The first piece 22 is hollow and supports the drive device 3, enabling it to pivot about the pin 4. The second piece 23 slides inside the first piece 22 and is connected to the second part 5 so as to allow mutual pivoting. Through the elongate slots 24 of the second piece 23, a clamping bolt 25 supported by the first piece 22 can be passed and tightened. When the separation between the two pivot pins 4 and 6 is appropriate, the bolt 25 can be tightened in order to lock the two pieces in this position.

The first part 2 has at one end a circular serration 26 whose centre is formed by the pivot pin 6. Likewise the same part 5 has a corresponding serration 27 whose centre is also formed by the pivot pin 6. When the two parts 2 and 5 have acquired their appropriate angular position a clamping bolt passing through the pivot pin 6 is tightened and the serrations engage in each other and cooperate so as to lock the two parts together.

FIG. 8 also depicts another embodiment of a fixing member. Around the pivot pin 6, each of the parts has orifices which extend in equal arcs of a circle concentric with the pin. It is thus possible, by means of a clamping bolt, to fix the mutual angular positions of the two parts of the fixing member.

It must be understood that the present invention is in no way limited to the embodiments described above and that many modifications can be made thereto without departing from the scope of the accompanying claims.

It is possible in particular to imagine, between the first part and the second part of the device, a combination, not illustrated, of a first part 2, of the telescopic type similar to that illustrated in FIG. 4, and a second part 5 with rotary adjustment similar to that illustrated in FIG. 7.

It is also possible to conceive, as illustrated in broken lines in FIG. 7, an embodiment of the second part 5 where the fastener 7 supports an intermediate element 28 in an angularly adjustable manner.

It is also possible to make provision for the axis of the motor 21 to be the axis of the wheel 11. 

1. Member (1) for fixing a device for driving a bicycle wheel by friction, comprising a fastener (7) connected to an element of the bicycle frame, the friction drive device (3) being arranged so as to be able to pivot freely about a first pivot pin (4), characterised in that the fixing member also comprises a first part (2), to which the drive device is connected so as to be able to pivot freely about the said first pivot pin (4), a second part (5), which is connected to the first part (2) so as to allow mutual pivoting between them about a second pivot pin (6), and which comprises the said fastener (7), at a distance from the said second pivot pin, and adjustment means (17-19; 26-27) capable of detachably fixing the first part (2) with respect to the second part (5) in an angular position adjustable by the above mentioned mutual pivoting.
 2. Fixing member according to claim 1, characterised in that the first pivot pin (4) is situated at a distance from the second pivot pin (6).
 3. Fixing member according to claim 2, characterised in that it comprises means (22-25) of modifying the separation between the first pivot pin (4) and the second pivot pin (6).
 4. Fixing member according to claim 3, characterised in that the first part (2) consists of two pieces (22, 23) capable of sliding with respect to each other, one (22) of the two pieces supporting the drive device (3) so as to enable the latter to pivot about the first pivot pin (4), the other one (23) of the two pieces being connected to the second part (5) so as to allow the said mutual pivoting.
 5. Fixing member according to claim 3, characterised in that the first (4) and second (6) pivot pins are coaxial.
 6. Fixing member according to claim 1, characterised in that it comprises at least one stop (13) arranged so as to delimit an angle of movement between the said drive device and the said first part.
 7. Fixing member according to claim 1, characterised in that the said adjustment means comprise, on one of the parts of the fixing member, at least a first orifice (17) extending in an arc of curvature having the second pivot pin (6) as its centre, and, on the other part, a second orifice (18) situated facing at least one of the said at least one first orifice (17), as well as holding and clamping means (19) arranged so as to engage in the said at least one first orifice (17) and the said second orifice (18) and thus to keep the two said parts integral with each other, after clamping.
 8. Fixing member according to claim 1, characterised in that the said adjustment means comprise, on one of the parts of the fixing member, a first serration (26) extending in a first arc of curvature having the second pivot pin (6) as its centre and, on the other part, a second serration (27) capable of cooperating with the first and extending in a second arc of curvature having the second pivot pin (6) as its centre as well as means of clamping the two parts with their respective serrations mutually engaged.
 9. Fixing member according to claim 1, characterised in that the said drive device (3) comprises a motor (21) arranged so as to drive in rotation a drive wheel (11) able to act by friction on the bicycle wheel.
 10. Fixing member according to claim 1, characterised in that the first part (2) has several pivot seats (12) for adjusting the position of the first pivot pin (4) as required.
 11. Fixing member according to claim 1, characterised in that, in the second part (5), the said fastener (7) supports an intermediate element (28) in an angularly adjustable manner. 